Device for protecting the legs and feet of workmen from injury by molten metal, &amp;c.



A. E. OUTERBRIDGE, J11. DEVICE FOR, PROTECTING THE LEGSAND FEET OF WORKMEN FROM INJURY BY MOLTEN METAL, 6w.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.8, 1913.

Patent-ed May 19, 1914,

lwaomwv EOukffin'ajqzJj .20 tel were frequent, since the molten metal UNITE sTAr s-rATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER E. OUTERBRIDGE, JR, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEV'IGE FOR PROTECTING THE LEGS FEET 0F WORKMEN FROM INJURY BY MOLTEN METAL,

Patented May 19, 1914..

Application filed October 8 1913. Serial No. 794,012.

Toall whom it may concern Be itknown that I, AmxA nnR E. -OUTER BRIDGE, 'Jr., of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, in'the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain. new and useful Devices for Protecting theLegs and .Feet of. Workman. from Injury by Molten Meta;l, ,&c. whereof the following is a specification, referencebeing had .to the accompanying drawings.

In metal foundries a very large percentage of the injuries which occur to work- ;men is due to the splashing or spilling of molten metal upon their legs and feet durin the filling, handling, or ,pouring of ladles or 'other receptacles.

Prior to the adoption of my present invention, in one .of the ,large iron foundries of Philadelphia, accidents of this characwhich splashed or spilled upon the legs or feet-of workmen, and found even .a temporary lodgment, burned through the clothing or leather shoes of-the wearer, and inflicted painful and sometimes dangerous injuries.

My invention is based upon the discovery that molten metal, such as iron, even at thei high temperature used in casting, can, under;

.certain conditions, be poured'against afab-j ric-in itself infiammalol -without setting firej thereto, or even causing charring thereof. The above statement applies to such a textile fabric as canvas, which has a compara-i tively hard ,and smooth face without ap-I preci-a-ble crevices, but I have found that other smooth. fabrics, and even paper, are

capable of exhibiting this immunity from combustion, under the conditions referred :to. These conditions are that the fabric itself shouldhave such a surface, and be so disposed with relation to the horizontal,

- that molten metal falling thereon, shall be .free to immediately shed itself away from the fabric, under .the'efiect of gravity, even a momentary detentionb lodgment suflicing to produce injury, w ile, on the other hand, a stream of molten-iron-can run continuously downward for an appreciable time upon a surface of this character, w thout setting fire to'the fabric or even charrmg I have-practically utilized this discovery in an organized manner, to obtain a'protecting device which may be readily applied to, and removed from, the leg and foot of a workman, and the result has beemthat after an above referred to, practically no injuries have occurred through burning, although illustrated .a preferred form of the device,-

Figure I, being .a .side elevation thereof, as applied ,to theleg andfoot of the wearer; ,Fig. II, being a vertical section and Fig. III, a view 1n perspective, of the device detached' therefrom; .Figs. IV, and V, being perspective views of referred fasteningdevices which I have ound Well adapted to the purpose.

The material which I prefer, when a textile fabric is to be employed, is a canvas havng a relatively hard and closely woven surface and stiff enough to permanently main tain .its generalcontour.

As will be .seen from the drawings, the material is arranged in a form correspond- 1I1g' 1l1 a eneral way, to that of a legging, .havinga cg portion 1, and a foot portion 2. It will be noticed that the foot portion 2, is, as compared with that ofan ordinary legging, extended laterally and forwardly and prolonged downwardly, so as to not only completely cover the upper, but to project 1 over and shield substantially the entire upper edges of the soleof anormal shoe, meanmg by that expression. a shoe, of such size as would .be appropriate for a person for .whom :the leg portion 1, would be proper. Furthermore, it will be noticed that the exterior contour ,of the protector is entirely free from'anygroovaridge or projection, of a hor1zontal character, or approximately so,

and-that-the incline of the foot portion 2,-

both laterally and forwardly, is uninterrupted, in the sense that there is no cupped .or flat surface, such as.ordinarily,occurs in the upper of ashes at-the region between the instep and the toe. Thedimensions of the foot portion 2, are preferably such as to also leave a free. space between it and theexperience of ,over .a year, in ,the foundry the conditions as ,to the splashing or .spillupper of the shoe at this region, so that the upper of the shoe can bend, without-forming permanent-creases in the proximate mate rial of thefoot portion 2.

In the most complete form of the invention, I provide a stiffening or supporting member-3, such-as a metalband, extending bencathwhat may=be termed the ridge of such character as not to readily collapse or crease in use. A band ft, passes beneath the sole of the shoe to retain the device against riding up, but said band is so secured to the inner side of the fabric, that no external horizontal projection is formed opposite to the regions of attachment. The leg portion 1, is closed down the entire front, but has a vertical openingat the-rear, as shown at 5, extending preferably throughout the entire length, the edges of the opening being preferably made to overlap slightly, so as to insure a complete closure of the vertical opening: The protector is'secured to the leg of the wearer, by a non-projecting fastening means, preferably by metallic spring bands, one of which, 6, is located near the top of the leg portion 1, the other 7, of smaller diameter, being located preferablyabove the ankle and at about such a height as to surround the top edges of an ordinary shoe. The lower of these springs, and preferably both thereof, should be so attached to the material as not to present any substantial external ridge or projection in a horizontal direction, or approximately so; that is to say, the external contour of the organized structure, as well as the inherent structure of the material from which it is made, should be substantially flush in a vertical direction. I have found that with a device of this character, molten iron may be splashed or even poured upon the leg portion or the foot portion, without substantial injury to the fabric, or to the person or clothing of the wearer, as the metal will be shed under the effect of gravity, before it exercises any substantial burning effect. 1

While I have specified canvas as the preferred material for theprotector, I do not limit myself thereto, for, theoretically, even paper having a smooth surface could be employed, but for obvious reasons a fabric more permanent than ordinary paper, under the conditions of practical -use, is desirable; If desired, the material may be impregnated With-a so-called fire-proofing salt, such as tungstate of soda, butrthis is not necessary in most cases.

I am of course aware that a canvas legging is an old article of manufacture, and that s ring fastening clips have been emp oye those above described. Hence While I do not limit myself to the use of such fastening means, I do not broadly claim a legging, or a legging provided with such clips. Nor do I broadly claim the use of a stiffening device in a legging.

The distinguishing and essential features of my invention are that the inherent strucfor purposes generally similar to t-ure of the fabric should itself be free from such crevices or projections as would detain the molten metal for any substantial period of time; as a convenient expression -for which characteristic I use the term nondetaining: also that the fabric should be capable of maintaining, under the wear and tear of use, the integrity of form both of its own surface and of the contour of the structure in which it is embodied; as a convenient expression for which characteristic I use the term formally durable: also that it should be structurally disposed in such a manner as not to present horizontal or approximately horizontal ridges or projections, or relatively flat surfaces; as a convenient expression for which characteristic I use the term vertically flush: also that it should have a foot portion laterally and forwardly extended to form a shield which projects,- over substantially the entire upper edge of the sole of such a shoe as would correspond in size to that adapted to be worn by a person for whom the leg ortion would I be normally in size, the exterior contour of said foot portion having a substantially uninterrupted, though not necessarily uniform incline, in a downward direction; as a convenient expression for which characteristic of relative extension, I employ the term overlapping; and finally, as a preferable characteristic, that it should be readily applicable to, and removable from the person of the wearer. Under these circumstances, the discovery of the remarkable phenomenon above mentioned is practically utilized for a structure which though it-resembles to the eye a well known article, embodies such modifications from the usual type of such articles as will obtain, for a specific purpose, a new result of serious importance to humanity and of economic value.

I claim:

1. The hereinbefore described device for protecting the human leg and foot from injury by hotmetal; which device consists of an envelop having a leg portion and a foot portion, composed of formally-durable and non-detainin material, substantially as set forth;.said oot portion being extended to form a shield overlapping substantially the entire upper edge of the sole-of a normal shoe corresponding to the dimensions of the leg portion, and said le and foot portions having a vertically flus surface and substantially uninterrupted downward incline;

in combmation with fastening means, nonprojecting in a horizontal direction, sub stantially as set forth.

2. The hereinbefore described device for rotecting the human leg and foot from inury by hot metal; which deviceconsists of an envelop having a leg portion and. a foot 'portion, composed of formally-durable and non-detaining material, substantially as set 13 forth; said foot portion being extended to form a shield overlapping substantially the entire upper edge of the sole of a normal shoe corresponding to the dimensions of the leg portion, and being also provided with a stiffening member extending along its ridge; and said leg and foot portion having a vertically flush surface and substantially unin terrupted downward incline; in combina- 10 tion with fastening means, non-projecting in a horizontal direction, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- Vania, this seventh day of October, 1913.

ALEXANDER E. OUTERBRIDGE, JR,

Witnesses.

JAMES H. BELL, E. L. FULLERTON. 

